Today we’re sharing an extremely important story written by South Bay local and our neighbor across the street in Manhattan Beach at Four Daughters Kitchen, Kori Clausen. Thanks to Kori for advocating for the health of our community. We love you!

My husband Clint had always been an athlete and enjoyed working out.

Although he loved to eat, he was healthy by all accounts.

Clint passed away on August 8, 2014.

He passed away from severe coronary artery atherosclerosis (a massive heart attack) and cardiac hypertrophy (an enlarged heart). Two of his arteries were 90% blocked the other was 70% blocked. He was 44 years old. A year prior he went for a physical and received an EKG and blood work to test his cholesterol levels. Everything was normal…or so we thought.

This past year I’ve learned a lot about heart disease.

The EKG and blood work gave us a false sense of security. I had no idea that heart disease is the number one killer for both men and women and what a silent killer it is. We never think it will happen to us. At least that’s what I thought.

I was curious what it involved, so I made an appointment for myself. Among the tests was an ECG. I was able to see the four chambers of my heart, the blood flow in my carotid artery and my abdominal aortic. They also measured my arterial walls and wall motion. The results found that my estimated 10-year risk of developing coronary heart disease was 1%. I was relieved to know I’m 100% healthy! After the tests the health educator spent 45 minutes explaining everything in detail. I left with all my test information and a DVD of my heart screening.

I wish I had known about this screening when Clint was alive. It could have saved his life.

I hope my story will help inspire you to get this screening and make sure your heart is in good shape. It could also be a great gift for someone you love. I truly believe if Clint could have had this done, he would still be with us today.